Ric Flair was advertised to appear alongside Ricky Steamboat during Saturdays AEW Collision and again during the November 13 episode of AEW Dynamite: Blood & Guts. But when the show aired, Flair was nowhere to be seen. Now, the real reason behind his absence has been revealedand it came down to a painful and sudden injury.
According to Dave Meltzer and Bryan Alvarez on Wrestling Observer Radio, Flair was present at the Greensboro Coliseum but couldnt go through with the televised segment due to a torn rotator cuff. Despite being in visible pain, Flair made a brief appearance for the live crowd before the show went on the air, but skipped the scheduled on-screen moment entirely. Meltzer broke down exactly what happened:
Flair even tried to hide the extent of his injury:
Originally booked to appear on the show, Flairs role was reportedly dropped at the last second due to the injury.
Flair quietly exited the venue after his brief pre-show promo:
Bryan Alvarez added more context on the awkwardness fans noticed during Steamboats solo segment:
Meltzer followed up to clarify Steamboat was always intended to appearbut likely not alone:
So while Ric Flair did technically appear in Greensboro, his on-screen absence was due to a legitimate injury that sidelined him just before showtime. AEW fans were left watching an improvised version of what was likely meant to be a nostalgic segment with two wrestling legends.
Were you disappointed Ric Flair didnt appear on Dynamite? Would you like to see the SteamboatFlair reunion rescheduled once Flair heals up? Share your thoughts below.
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